Brooks, a nine-time All-American, won the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships and opened the outdoor season last week by going 22 feet, 3 inches in the long jump to break her own school record by 11 inches and earn SEC co-field athlete of the week honors.

"Taliyah will go into the Texas Relays as the favorite," University of Arkansas, Fayetteville women's Coach Lance Harter said. "She's very fit and very focused and ready to go."

Arkansas junior pole vaulters Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard -- twin sisters from Cabot who took first and second at the NCAA Indoor meet -- will open the outdoor season at the Texas Relays. Jada Baylark, a sophomore from Little Rock Parkview who ran 11.10 in the 100 meters last week to match Veronica Campbell-Brown's school record, will run several events in Austin.

The Razorbacks' No. 1-ranked women's team and No. 11 men's team will divide their squads between the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational. The women's distance runners will compete at Stanford along with the men's distance runners and field event athletes.

The men's sprinters will compete at the Texas Relays, led by senior Kenzo Cotton, who ran 10.12 in the 100 and anchored Arkansas in the 400 relay (39.31 seconds) and 1,600 relay (3:10.30) to open the outdoor season and was named SEC co-runner of the week.

Razorbacks senior Kemar Mowatt, a five-time All-American, will run the 400 hurdles -- his specialty -- at the Texas Relays.

Arkansas assistant Travis Geopfert, who coaches the field events, said most of the Razorbacks are maintaining a heavy training schedule with the focus to be at their best at home for the John McDonnell Invitational on April 14 and the National Relay Championships on April 27-28.

"We're really proud of our home meet schedule here, and so we want to slow play the first couple meets," Geopfert said. "Then at the John McDonnell and National Relay Championships, make sure our guys are ready to showcase some of their stuff at home."

Discussion

Bob Holt

Bob Holt is a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America, and a voter for the Heisman Trophy and AP Top 25 basketball poll. Holt has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year twice.